Several Sacramento streets could get speed bumps amid rise in fatal crashes
SACRAMENTO — More than three dozen people have been killed in car crashes on Sacramento streets so far this year. Now, there's a growing demand for the city to try and slow drivers down.
Alice Davis has lived in her Tahoe Park home for 53 years and says she's fed up with cars constantly speeding down her street.
"It's supposed to be 25 miles an hour because it's a residential area, but they just go like a bullet down here," she said.
Cars have even slammed into her front yard bricks.
"He took this whole section out," she said.
So Davis started a petition asking the City of Sacramento to install speed bumps to slow drivers down.
"Every year, I would call, 'What's going on?' 'We don't have the funds,' " she said.
She's been waiting for a long time.
"Eight years. I even said I was going to go out and put one in myself," Davis said.
Now, in response to growing demand from neighborhoods, the City of Sacramento is boosting the budget and starting a speed bump building boom. Plans call for adding them to 20 new city streets
"We want safer streets," said Slow Down Sacramento founder Isaac Gonzalez. "We demand safer streets."
Gonzalez says more funding needs to be dedicated to traffic safety measures.
"We need infrastructure like this to entice people to slow down," Gonzalez said.
Sacramento has some of the highest number of fatal traffic collisions in the state.
Last year, 50 people died in car crashes on Sacramento streets.
"Just this past week alone, we saw cars hitting people in front of a school, a cyclist was killed, a pedestrian was killed as well," Gonzalez said. "It's almost a daily occurrence, unfortunately."
"It doesn't surprise me because they drive like idiots," Davis said.
Now, sje is happy to know her street is on the list to finally get speed bumps.
"It's like finally I've accomplished something," Davis said.
The City says all speed bumps must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of people who live on the street. Construction could begin later this month.